The Week Ahead: 10.3 to 10.8

Do you not know? 

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

The will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40: 28-31

Last week, we endured a stretch that was both tragic and beautiful. The waiting on Monday and Tuesday was exhausting. And then the loss that our school community and the Witte family suffered on Tuesday night was simply tragic, accompanied by lots of sadness, grief, mourning, anger, and a whole host of other emotions. And those emotions will continue to ebb and flow; throughout the year we will face reminders that will stir us up. However, the overwhelming support our team, our school community, and the Witte family has received in the days since has been beautiful. From flowers and cards and an invitation for a combined practice, to the banners at the high school and our office that has turned into a mini plant nursery, we have been raised up by a community of lifters. The words above from Isaiah have stayed with me all week since we heard them in chapel on Wednesday. We may not understand His plans in the moment, but we have to continue to trust and rely on our great, everlasting God.

As we move into this week, we're trying to get back to a sense of normalcy. Monday will be tough for sure, but will also provide a bit of closure to the days and events that we've endured. And, as I discussed on a couple occasions, we need to wake up each day thankful that we will get to go about a week that is exactly as we've planned, while there's a family in our midst that's on a completely unplanned journey. Events like these that are deeply jarring also force us to do some self-evaluating and bring to the forefront the things that are truly important in life. You never wish something like this to happen, but I'm glad we get to walk through it together as a family.

Monday 10.3

• Funeral Arrangements
• A group is meeting at 10:15am in the Aquatic Center parking lot to carpool from there. You certainly don't have to join the crew from our team if you want to go with other family or friends, but if you're looking for a group to go with, by all means join!
• See the email thread initially from Emma for more details.
• Ben will be attending the funeral with the high school staff.
• Meal and Worship
• After the funeral, there will be a meal at the high school, followed by a worship service for students.
• High School Cleanup
• I will talk to Mr. Mosterd in the morning and see if they still need help with the meal cleanup. If they do, we'll help with that at 3:00pm and then head to the pool. If not, we'll simply head to the pool for our normal afternoon practice slot.

Wednesday 10.5

• Meet HOME vs. Unity
• On-deck for devotions at 5:15pm.
• Warm Up @ 5:30pm. Meet Start @ 6:30pm.

Saturday 10.8

• Saturday Practice: in the water from 9:00 to 11:00am...time to sleep in!!
• Breakfast will be served afterward, so plan accordingly for rides.